CROSS MY HEART // dystopian romance

9. interrogation

The day after the flooding, I don't talk to anyone until the afternoon comes. I'm used to having no one around.

"Sit." Turner orders me as I enter the main room. They're all sitting there, and there's a chair for me disposed in front of them.

"Ask nicely and maybe I will."

The serious wrinkle between his brows make a reappearance. "Don't mess with me, Heart-Slayer. Sit." His dark hair is still a little messy from the morning. He's sitting on a backwards chair, his elbows resting on the back of it.

Althea nods at me, encouraging. So, I sit reluctantly. The tension in the room is heavy.

"We have questions." he says. "About you."

I feared it was just a matter of time before they started to wonder about my identity. They're debating whether or not they can trust me. Who they're dealing with.

"Shoot." is all I mumble.

"First of all—"

"Can you teach me the heart-aim technique ? Please please please !" Mihan cuts him short.

"Mihan." Grace scolds her brother, one hand on his shoulder.

"What's your name ?" Big Ben asks.

"Ivy."

"Your full name." Turner insists.

"Ivy Warden." I sigh, forced.

"Why is your hair like that ?" Mihan asks again, curious.

"I was born with it. Genetic disease, they say." I answered in a sarcastic tone.

"It looks like blood. It's cool." He insists on the last word, and I can't hide my little smile when I understand that he didn't get my sarcasm.

"So Heart-slayer, you're a compulsive liar as well as a war machine ?" Turner strikes and then turns the Khan sister. "I told you she's trouble."

"Scar, we already said we are not giving her over to the Claws." Althea protects me.

"Yeah, right. Just checking." he raises his hands, palms open. "And I'm guessing it's also a no for using her as bait—"

"Shut up, Scar." Althea claps back.

I give him my most offended stare, like I haven't intended using them as bait the first time I saw them.

"What's your kill count ?" Mihan asks, and it pains me to realize how young he is to be asking that casually like it doesn't mean anything.

"About two-thousand."

Turner looks down sighing, and runs a hand through his stupid hair.

"What's your story ?" Big Ben asks, and I guess he means my time during the Falling Month, the people I've lost during the outbreak.

"I don't need to to tell you anything." I defend myself, and that's the less rude tone I could come up with. I guess it's better than telling the truth.

The truth is always uglier.

"Distrustful, much ?" Althea chuckles. "You seriously need to relax. We're not your ennemies. We need you."

"Why ? For the Claws ?"

Turner answers yes and Althea answers no at the same time, leaving me fixed on their likeness in me.

"We want you to come with us. We could use someone with your skills."

"No. Absolutely not." Turner stands up abruptly and starts pacing around the room. "Besides, think about it. You don't find it weird that got so high in only the first two months of the Falling ?"

He turns back to face me, and he stares at every feature of my face.

"Tell me Warden..." my last name in his mouth feels like an insult. "How come you've killed so much in so little time, huh ? Surely some of them were human."

"How come you're such a prick ?" I stand up fast.

"See?" he ignores me and adresses the others behind me. "She's hot-headed, and aggressive, and sketchy. What guarantees us she won't rip our hearts out and steal our food the minute we fall asleep ?"

"What guarantees me, you won't use me as bait the minute things go south ?" I retort immediately, narrowing my eyes.

He scoffs and shakes his head, ready to answer something sharp and vexing, but a loud bang on the table stops him from doing me the honor.

"Stop this. Both of you." I'm startled by Althea's sudden outburst. "You seriously need to stop this shit. I'm going to make it simple.We're going to Salt Lake city. Ivy, you wanna come with us ? Maybe you could use our help, and we could use yours. You're fast and skilled, and I'm a great medic. Scar was in the army, and Big Ben is hella strong."

"And I have a slingshot." Mihan adds, waving it in my face.

"Wait." I frown. "Salt Lake City ?"

"Yeah. We met a girl on the way here, told us there's a big community in Salt Lake City, aka The Last Who Remain. It's a safe place." she says, her tone hopeful and optimistic. "A medical science center called StarLab is trying to find a cure there, and they protect the community."

It feels like some rats are crawling in my stomach. I want to stay strong, and impassive, but my body betrays me. My knees fail to support the weight of my body, and I fall back on my chair.

"StarLab is untouched ?" my voice comes out quieter than intended, and it cracks mid-sentence.

"...You okay ?" Althea asks me, suddenly concerned.

I close my eyes shut. I don't want to tell them about my mother, about the explosion of emotions going off in my head. Instead, I just stand up. I avoid Turner's eyes.

"I'll go with you to Salt Lake City." I tell them simply, before walking out of the room.

I lock myself in the bathroom where I let the water run loudly, and I break down crying in relief, hands covering my mouth.